The Compleat Biker: Clothing from Head to Toe

The Complete Biker: riding gear from head to toe.
Of course, clothing requirements vary greatly with climate. I address this issue here and talk about it more specifically in future sections when it is more topical and relevant.
Well...lets literally start at the top!

A helmet: If you don't wear a helmet, sooner or later all the people who access this site will be reading about you in the obituaries. A helmet is designed to prevent a minor accident from causing major, even fatal, head injury. If you fall from the bicycle you'll hit your head: guaranteed. No helmet and you are talking concussion or worse. Helmets are light and inexpensive: in fact, its even more aerodynamic to wear one, even if you have a 'boeing 747 nose' like I do. GET ONE!
A rear view mirror: the kind attached to your helmet. You can see the whole road behind you just by jiggling your head a bit. Handlebar mirrors gobble up precious space your hands need; and become worthless as you lean or turn...just when ya need them most! Hearing is not enough..windy days, rushing rivers, noisy traffic or heavy rain will drown out vehicles. Buses have their engine in the back, so often you'll never hear them. With a mirror you can see and respond to everything in advance. You won't own the road, but you will control it.
A cloth/spandex bathing cap: What? A speedo on your head? Yup! It wicks sweat away all over your scalp. Forget the helmet pads..they fill up in minutes. It keeps you cool by improving evaporation. It keeps gnats off your skin when you ride in buggy areas.
A bathing cap is better than an outer helmet liner. The latter interferes with ventilation, makes installing a mirrow awkward, and wear out quickly. Nor are the small pores in the helmet liners enough to keep out tiny bugs.
Eyeglasses: these will keep dust, grit, and bugs out of your eyes. Going downhill this can be a serious problem...a junebug in Vermont on route 9 west of Brattleboro knocked my lens right out! Better a lens than your cornea, I say. Glasses make you look geeky and cyclists are geeks, anyway.
A dickie, for cold/wet weather. It'll stop those chilly breezes from going down your back or chest without putting bulk and weight on your torse. You can snug your rain gear up against it without chafing your skin, also. Many riders carry a small hand towel around their neck in hot weather to absorb sweat and have available to rinse off in a quick pinch when they stop to enter a store or restaurant.
3 t-shirts: for riding in pleasant weather. I prefer cotton since it feels comfy and absorbs sweat better than polymers. They are more comfy when sleeping, too. One shirt is light color for warm days. The other two are dark for cooler weather. I like them loose so they flap in the breeze and cool you. Since they are not skin tight mosquitos and flies can't bite right through them, either.
2 cycling jerseys: Light, quickdrying, sporty and stylish. Wash and wear! I'll often wear one under a cotton shirt if the weather is cool. On extremely hot days, I prefer them also since I can rinse them off and put them back on to dry, more effectively than the cotton shirts. I might say that in fair weather, you often wear the same stuff day after day and just wash it at night, putting it back on the next morning!
Two light nylon/polymer longsleeved shirts. Both dark in color for cooler days. Under rain gear they help keep you warm, also. Try and get a cool sports logo or something since these longsleeved guys are probably what you'll wear when you go out at night on your rest days, and in the mountains its chilly enough at night to need longsleeves even in the summer.
One Waterproof rain jacket: Oh, yes! For those yucky days! Make sure its the somewhat heavydurable fabric similar to that old yellow 'raincoat' your mom sent you to school with back when Nixon (Eisenhower? Hoover?...) was president.
Several points as raingear is second only to the BIKE in assuring an enjoyable tour.
- First, get the biggest jacket you can find. The more room you have for dead air, the warmer and drier you will be.
- Second, make sure the arms are as long as possible (to cover your hands in cold rainy weather) and that the cuffs have drawstring (NOT elastic) closures. Then you can tighten/loosen the cuffs as needed to control ventilation.
- Third, make sure the front has both zipper and snap closure. Agian, in light rain the snaps will be ok; heavy or cold rain you can zip up snugly.
- Fourth, make sure a hood is included that folds in the neck. You put this under your helmet when all hell breaks loose: cold wind driven icy rain in your face. It covers your head (80% of heat loss) and keeps your neck dry too. (so does the dickie i mentioned before).
- Fifth, a drawstring waist and/or chest will prevent billowing and also control ventilation.
You can find jackets like this in most camping or military supply stores. Mine was made by Columbia and cost $ . It got me thru the entire tour, including hurricane mitch in Central America. (BEAT THAT! 1 meter of rain in less than 24 hours!) Don't confuse camping stores (high quality at reasonable prices) with sporting good stores (high fashion at outrageous prices.) The plasticky fabric is heavier than the sleek ones you might be tempted to buy, but its much more durable (as a ground cloth, for example!)
All those flaps, drawstrings and such help the jacket overcome its lack of breathability. Its not perfect, but its been fine for me in 100,000 kilometers of cycling spanning 18 years.
Why not gore-tex (EXcuuuuuuuuuuuuse me... i mean 'vapor barrier fabric...')? Simple answer? It doesn't work. I discuss this in exquisite detail in my review of Columbia raingear in a later section. To save you clicking there now, let me say: the basic flaw with Gore-tex is it assumes sweat/condensation is exclsuively a matter of breathability. Its NOT. Its NOT. Its NOT. plus the stuff costs a fortune; all this, for raingera that is no lighter and alot less durable than traditional stuff. Save your money for a cup of hot coffee mocha on a rainy day. You'll love it that much more.
one pair of cycling gloves: very important. The more leather/gooey protection in the palms, the better. Rough roads and long hours can do serious nerve damage otherwise. The woven knit type gives you a tan people will always admire.
Two pairs of lycra cycling shorts: Tight and shiny, they are lascivious but they tone your muscles and don't chafe. They wash and dry in a snap. No other gear will take as much abuse as these and you'll buy new pair on a regular basis. Some now come with pockets or as the inner liner to a pair of Crocodile Dundee type boogie shorts.
One pair of lined cycling pants: You'll need these to keep your knees and legs warm in cold or rainy weather. The ones with starps over your shoulders and under your arches will stay taught and comfortable. They dry quickly when the rain stops....if it stops! One pair will probably be enough...you won't wear this all that often and you'll have your cycling shorts on under it, so it will last quite a while.
2 pairs of socks: I wear the ones that come almost to the knee, like soccer players have. Just a preference.
1 pair low cut running style shoes: manny people have a special pair of shoes for riding...you will have to if you use the new clip-on pedals. I figure one pair of shoes is enough, and I don't use toe clips at all. Get a firm sole and as little 'fabric' in the upper as you can. Then they will be cool and dry quickly after the rain stops. I met a guy on the Alaska highway who cycled in flippies like you wear at the beach!